‘Carpool Karaoke’: New Apple Series To Feature Ariana Grande, Blake Shelton & More

James Corden is giving up the driver’s seat for Apple Music’s first series, ‘Carpool Karaoke.’ The 16 episode half-hour show will actually feature 16 different hosts — and yes, they’re all huge stars.

ArianaGrande with Seth MacFarlane, JohnLegend with Alicia Keys and Taraji P. Henson, Billy Eichner with Metallica, Michael Strahan with Jeff Gordon.. . . do we need to go on? The names are endless when it comes to Apple’s new show, Carpool Karaoke, a series based on the bit from The Late Late Show. But what’s the difference?

During the Television Critics’ Association press tour on Jan. 9, James Corden as well as producers Ben Winston and Eric Pankowski,broke down the series, explaining that the Apple Series will not always feature James, and won’t always feature singers.

In the trailer shown at TCA, we saw a lot of singing — like Ariana and Seth singing “Suddenly Seymour,” and Taraji, John and Alicia jamming out to some heavy rap, but we also see some other activities… like Chelsea Handler in the shower.

“It’s a half hour show where you put two people together in an interview setting where they ask each other questions, they learn about each other’s lives, and they sing in a car,” Ben said. “It’s about taking people who aren’t musicians necessarily and putting them in the car and making a great half-hour episode.”

“Each [episode] is its own event,” Eric explained on the new series, adding that some pairs are longtime friends — like Blake Shelton and Chelsea — while others have never met, like Metallica and Billy Eichner.

Of course, Carpool Karaoke has become an iconic part of James’ show ever since it began in 2011 — the first guest was the late George Michaels. Since then, iconic names have joined the late night host — from Sia and One Direction to Britney Spears and Madonna. George is actually to thank for that success, as James claims it was him who inspired it.

“When we started the show here, we were trying to get people to do Carpool Karaoke, and not many artists wanted to do it. We would send them this clip of me and George, and we went it to Mariah Carey, and she was the first person to say yes,” he said on his show. “Her words were, ‘If it’s good enough for George, then it’s good enough for me. I’ll do it.’ So, we all have so much to thank him for, for the music that he’s given that will last forever. But we personally, here at this show, we owe him so much.”

HollywoodLifers, are you excited to see the new Carpool Karaoke show in 2017?